Grace
Grace is the fourth episode of Season 1, and overall the fourth episode of Falling Skies. It was written by Melinda Hsu Taylor and directed by Fred Toye. It first aired on TNT on July 2nd, and drew 4.07 million US viewers. Plot Synopsis Tom and his team head out to track down more motorcycles for the 2nd Mass., relying on Pope to guide them to a good location. They hit the jackpot until they meet some skitters and harnessed teenagers at the bike shop. Back at the base, Dr. Harris(guest star Steven Weber) and Anne disagree over the best method to gather more intelligence on the aliens. Plot In an attempt to understand the Skitters a little bit more, Anne and Dr. Harris try to communicate with the prisoner. Meanwhile, Weaver sends Tom and Hal out on a mission. While Tom is desperate to rescue Ben, it's pointed out that the kids who undergo the harness-removal operation need to be pumped full of drugs to wean them off of it. Rick is still under a morphine drip, and if the 2nd Mass is going to rescue more kids, they're going to need more drugs. Pope mentions that he knows of a motorcycle dealership not too far from the school where they might pick up some bikes, which would help in transporting the drugs. Reluctantly, Tom agrees to have Pope join them on the mission. Matt is frustrated that he can't help his father and brother, but he's picked by Scott to help monitor radio signals by using a hand-cranked receiver. While Anne shows the alien pictures of Earth and the galaxy to see whether she can get the Skitter to share a little bit of its language, Harris takes a much more visceral approach. He brings in the corpse of the Skitter Pope's gang killed and shows it to the captive alien, who reacts negatively to the dead body. At the same time, Matt notices a burst of static on the radio. As Tom and the others travel to the dealership, they run across a nest of sleeping Skitters perched upside down under a bridge. Pope suggests blowing them up, but Tom thinks that the attack would bring too much attention to them, and they pass the Skitter nest by. Later, as the team explores the bike store, Pope escapes and ends up blowing up the Skitter nest, which calls attention to the team. Tom and company are holed up in the shop by a group of armed harnessed teens, who open fire on the shop. Tom refuses to shoot at the kids, and the team manages to escape by distracting the kids, who don't seem to have any guidance other than shooting at a conspicuous target. In the melee, Dai is shot in the leg. As Tom and Dai escape on a motorcycle, they are attacked by the Skitter that is controlling the kids. The two manage to kill it, but Tom decides to leave behind the motionless kids for another day. Meanwhile, Rick gains consciousness, but when Mike attempts to talk to his son, Ricky claims to not recognize him. The harness has somehow cured Ricky's cystic fibrosis as well. Frustrated, Mike tries to communicate with the Skitter, asking why they chose the kids and why his son was cured. When the Skitter doesn't answer to Mike's satisfaction, he shoves the barrel of a rifle into the Skitter's mouth, which causes the alien to collapse. At the same time, more static is picked up by Matt and Scott's radios. This suggests that the aliens must use radio waves to communicate. Harris and Anne do an autopsy on the dead Skitter, to see whether any of the internal organs lend themselves to radio communication, but the corpse has been dead too long and everything inside has turned to mush. The captive Skitter wakes Ricky and he places the harness back onto his spine. He then tries to free the alien but is caught by Mike and the others. The Skitter begins to communicate through Ricky, asking them to free it and then later, asking them to kill it. Infuriated, Mike takes his son and rips the harness off his back. After returning, Tom and Weaver discuss the mission. Tom suggests that the harnessed teens were used against them as a form of psychological warfare which Weaver notes worked since Tom's team couldn't fire on them. Tom believes that it shows that the Skitters are more like humans than they realized and if they can learn enough about them, they can beat them. Tom once more states his intention to go after Ben and the other kids and Weaver grants permission, telling Tom that if it was his kid and he had a chance to get them back, he would. As Tom leaves, he is approached by Maggie who states that every pharmacy within 20 miles is empty. While Tom is willing to go out further, Maggie suggests that there is another solution. Later, at dinner, the group eats bread that Pope left for them after Lourdes says grace. Other Cast Co-Starring * Dylan Authors as Jimmy Boland * Daniyah Ysrayl as Rick Thompson * Melissa Kramer as Sarah * Elena Lau as Female Fighter Uncredited * Andrey Ivchenko as Schlatter * Chavis Brown as O'Neil Deaths *Four sleeping Skitters *Controlling Skitter Significant Events *Anne and Harris work to communicate with the captured Skitter to no avail. *Under the apparent influence of the Skitter, Rick puts his harness back on, allowing the Skitter to communicate through him. The Skitter demands to be released or killed before Mike rips the harness off. *John Pope leads Tom Mason and a team to recover motorcycles from a shop. Having spotted a Skitter nest, Pope abandons the team to blow it up. *Pope's attack draws the attention of a Skitter which sends harnessed teens after the team. Dai is injured before the team can escape. *Uncle Scott and Matt notice that whenever the captured Skitter is agitated, a hand-cranked radio picks up static, indicating that the Skitters have the ability to communicate through radio. Trivia * Worked flawlessly." The crew shot the episode in the summer and "the guy inside the suit was buried beneath six inches of foam rubber." The Skitter suit caused him to heat up quickly. He could only go ten or fifteen minutes between takes, at which time he would need to take a break, which was time consuming. Goofs * When talking, Maggie and Weaver say that the hospital with the kids is off of Route 2. It was previously stated to be off of Route 9. Gallery fs_eps103_gallery01_313x470.jpg fs_eps103_gallery02_313x470.jpg fs_eps103_gallery03_512x341.jpg fs_eps103_gallery04_512x341.jpg fs_eps103_gallery05_512x341.jpg fs_eps103_gallery06_512x341.jpg fs_eps103_gallery07_512x341.jpg fs_eps103_gallery08_512x341.jpg fs_eps103_gallery09_512x341.jpg fs_eps103_gallery10_313x470.jpg Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 Category:Season 1 Episodes